Of Their Own Accord
by DeathBladeVI
Summary: Humanity makes first contact with batarians. Aided by batarian separatists, they are able to rise on a galactic scale. With a new war breaking out, a resurgent krogan empire and humanity make war, and a combined human-turian task force makes a startling discovery that could tilt the balance of the galaxy.
1. Prologue

"_Radio"_

_Thoughts_

"Normal"

Human Embassy, Torfan, July 21st, 2158, 130 years since First Contact

Prologue

"There's a hell of a lot of rioters outside the gates Ambassador," the security chief warned Ambassador Anita Goyle. She was the seventh ambassador to the batarians, who were a pain in her ass. She watched from the security camera feeds as dozens of protesters and rioters marched outside, holding signs in English, screaming, "Get the Hell out of the Verge!"

She sighed before turning to the head of her security detachment. These men were the best of the best. More rioters arrived, bringing the strength of the opposing force of up to two hundred people. Torfan was the site of the Human Embassy to the batarians or the Separatists, as if they needed one, she thought wily. Several armed men were patrolling the walls of the Embassy, in order to make sure that no damn batarian tried to kill them.

There was also two major military bases that belonged to the humans on Torfan. One was the home to the 75th Ranger Regiment, a detachment that served as the QRF for most places located on the edge of Human and Batarian controlled space. The other was home to the 120th Fighter Wing's 186th Fighter Squadron and their fighter aircraft.

It was a unique arrangement with the hostile-like Separatists, who only had a small naval detachment and ground force there, both serving as the garrison force and the local defense against pirates.

Two vehicles approached the main gate, both of them military. Humming with energy, the main gates opened, and despite rioters throwing water bottles and various...items, the two vehicles zoomed into the compound, and two armed human security personnel closed the gate. Several vehicles were already there, while several armed men and women were moving back and forth from the main building of the Embassy to the vehicles, loading them with various items.

Private First Class Keith "Armadillo" Walter met Security Chief Douglas Hamilton in the main room of the Embassy, located on the fifth floor. The Delta Force operator was new, having recently been promoted to the Delta Force from the regular Army. Three other Delta operators were there, all of them part of Team Viking. Lead by the experienced Sergeant Abdul "Cyclops" Hussein, all of them were battle-hardened and tested.

"Gentlemen, I can't thank you enough. You got us more vehicles and you managed to disperse those protesters for a little while. I don't know what the hell is going to happen, but we're going to bug out of here as soon as the vehicles are loaded," Douglas Hamilton said sternly. He was six feet tall, with a red handlebar mustache and a tattoo of two hands holding several dogtags on his left arm, as if praying. He was a white male hailing from Mars, and was around thirty-five or so. His voice was stern and firm, calm under pressure.

"Good to be here. So how is it looking?" Abdul Hussein asked. He was thirty-two years old and hailed from Earth, Kurdistan to be exact. Born to Muslim parents, he was a secular man who didn't practice his birth religion, though sometimes he said a quick prayer to God. He was around five feet ten inches, with dark black hair covered by a beanie. In his hands was a standard assault rifle, firing a 5.56mm round propelled by magnetic coils at speeds that matched or surpassed Mach 7. Under his barrel was a standard forty millimeter grenade launcher that fired airburst grenades that tore through kinetic barriers like they were nothing.

"Not good. At least two hundred or more protesters are out. We made a call out to the 75th Rangers, see if they can have a QRF ready for us just in case, but they got around a two hours flight just to get here, not to mention they have to pass through Batarian airspace," Douglas replied and the collective members of Delta Force Team Viking groaned.

"Any naval forces in the area?" Corporal Humberto "Taco" Reynosa interjected, hoping to find some shreds of hope still in the situation. Born on Luna, he was the second youngest member of the team, around twenty-five years of age. He was Roman-Catholic and unlike Abdul, was a practicing Catholic. Standing at around five feet six inches, he was also the smallest member of the team. His brown hair was covered by a baseball cap, while he wore sunglasses. He was the marksman of the group, armed with a battle rifle that fired 9.5mm rounds and had an effective range of over 1000 meters. He was able to pick off targets at around 1500 meters.

"We sent a message through the Quantum Entanglement Communicator and they are sending a flotilla to watch over the moon. However, as per the treaty, we have to rely on the Separatists to get us out of this mess," Douglas said somberly and again, Delta Force Team Viking cursed at their luck. On a good day it was hard for a Batarian to even say hello to a human, let alone pull their asses out of the fire.

"What about the 186th? They have fighter aircraft and they can provide CAS until extraction is over," suggested Specialist Shinzo "Poet" Abe. He was from Alpha Centauri, born in New Albany. He was exactly thirty years old, and practiced Buddhism. Standing around five feet and eight inches, he was the second shortest. He had a beard that covered most of his face, unlike the other clean shaved members, and wore a helmet, unlike the other team members. Attached to the magnetic strips on his armor was an automatic shotgun, firing pellets that tore through kinetic barriers easily.

"Not going to happen. These are protesters. Our plan is to just dump tear gas into those sons of bitches and get the hell out of here. Besides, they have to come through Separatist airspace. Trying to get those Separatist bastards to give us permission is too much of a pain in the aren't going to pull our asses of the fire without letting us take some damage," Douglas countered, and the hopes of an easy extraction were dashed. Usually, the Embassy had two Mi-28 transport tiltrotor aircraft for extraction, but those were down for repairs on the 75h Rangers base halfway across the moon. Able to go around three hundred and fifty miles per hour in atmosphere and around 700 miles per hour in space, the Mi-28 was armed with a single fifty caliber machine gun on its ramp and a 7.62mm Gatling mini-gun on the belly. Modeled after America's V-22 Osprey, it was able, spaceworthy and more advanced in every way.

"So we start loading the vehicles, try and get the hell out of here, and if we can't, we drop tear gas and drive the hell out of here?" Keith clarified and the Security Chief nodded. Keith was the youngest of them all, only twenty-two years old, born on Charon, near the Charon Relay. He was around five feet and ten inches, thin and gaunt, but with toned body that spoke of his physicality. He was clean shaven, but he had two red hands painted over his cheeks, signifying his allegiance to the Lakota Sioux. His brown eyes spoke of intelligence and kindness, while his dark black hair was shaven. He wore no covering, opting for a single tactical eyepiece that transmitted information and served as his Heads Up Display. Armed with a M253 SAW, he was the team's machine gunner, and his job was to give suppressive fire and cut down any idiots stupid enough to charge them.

"_Shit! We got incoming! I see fucking transports with military grade weapons on them approaching the fucking walls!" _came the scream from the communication devices on the men's forearms. All of them reached for their weapons. It was going to be a long day.

"_This is Viking Zero One, we are heading to Embassy roof. Armadillo, Poet, go down and help those contractors out. Taco, you're with me, let's go kill some fuckers from the roof_," and the team split up, Armadillo and Poet heading straight for the fight, while Taco and Cyclops headed straight up toward the roof, joining two security contractors who were manning a remote sniper system up there.

"_Copy that Viking Zero One. I will be known as Mother Bear and the various security contractors are known as Echo One One, Echo One Two, and Echo One Three. The Marines are Misfit One One. How copy, over_?" yelled Security Chief Douglas Hamilton over the radio. The tier one shooters of Delta Force nodded to one another, and Armadillo and Poet went down to the first floor of the Embassy building in time to see three batarians slam into the gate with all their might. The two were able to seem them through their magnetic sights. Raising their weapons, the two operators shot over the batarians head, careful not to shoot them, as they were unarmed. The burst of automatic fire was enough to encourage the three Batarians to make a run for it, even if they couldn't see the two Delta Force operators.

Armadillo looked through his HUD, scanning the walls before, once again, activating magnetic sights in order to get a better view of the outside of the walls. Soon the appearance of dozens of protesters were apparent. However, some of them were armed with crude weapons, such as flaming bottles and several had second handed mass accelerator pistols. Then the transports roared, disgorging fresh batarians armed to the teeth.

Armadillo had no doubt that these were members of the Batarian Hegemony. For years the Separatists and the Hegemony had been at war with each other, even fighting on Earth itself, before human innovation and science created a stalemate between the two. It had been over a hundred years ago since First Contact.

These were most likely members of the Special Intervention Unit. Trained to subvert, counter-insurgency, and to destabilize, they were highly trained and very dangerous. Dozens of them in a single place was not good.

"_Mother Bear, it seems as those commandeered transports are controlled by the Special Intervention Unit,_" and there was a long pause followed by a long string of curses.

_"Good to know Viking. I need those men on the walls safe. Kill as many as those SIU fuckers you want_," and Armadillo grinned. The tier one shooter and his partner raced to the gate, as two vehicles suddenly powered up, and slammed forward, heading straight for the main gate.

Armadillo raced towards the top of the wall, that was right above the gate and started to lay down a blanket of fire right at the two vehicles. One of them was hit by one his bursts and reared to the side, flipping over and skidding to a stop right next to an overturned bus. The other one kept roaring along, despite the pellets that Poet put into it. Armadillo reloaded, slapping in a new drum magazine into his gun.

Armadillo wished that he was back at home, instead of in the middle of the conflict between the Separatists and the Hegemony.

He continued to fire, only to stop to reload. The vehicle roared, humming with death, before a door opened and a batarian tumbled out, rolling as he did so. Armadillo wondered why he did that. Then he saw that the vehicle was heading straight for the gate.

_"We got two SIU fuckers trying to snipe us! We're pinned down by the western wall. Anybody handy with a rifle?" _one of the security personnel asked over the radio. He was desperate as far as Armadillo could tell but before he could say anything, Taco answered.

"_Roger that. I'm heading towards you." _

And before anything else happened, he heard two muffled shots echo throughout the compound. That would be Taco, probably taking down the damn snipers. Then he turned his attention back to the gate.

The vehicle slammed into the gate, despite the fire that Armadillo and Poet had fired at the damn thing. The vehicle imploded, detonating at least a kilo worth of explosives, turning the vehicle into an impromptu gate destroyer. He had to give it to these damn SIU fuckers, they knew how to improvise.

The gate was torn off its hinges. However, a second gate started to lower. It was standard procedure. Each human compound had a dual gate system, just in case the first gate was destroyed, denying the enemy any respite.

"_Mother Bear, secondary gate deployed. However, doesn't look like the enemy is going to give us any respite," _Armadillo muttered through his radio. He then had an idea. Though his magnetic sights allowed for him to look through the compounds of the walls, he couldn't get a fully accurate picture of what was happening. His hands quickly went through his rucksack, when he managed to get his UAV out. It was called the Dragonfire, a UAV that was used for recon. It was small and handy. He threw up the UAV into the air, letting it hover in the air, before he directed it to head towards the massive crowd of protesters and rioters outside the compound. He started to transmit straight to the compound's center, while also broadcasting to the HUDs of his comrades.

The UAV was silent as it hovered right above a group of protesters. However, these protesters weren't ordinary Batarians; they each had a mass accelerator rifle. Two batarians were fiddling with something that looked like a tube, along with legs. He didn't know what it was. He continued to hover right above them, noting that the protesters were essentially covering them with their bodies.

The two SIU batarians were done with whatever they were doing. The UAV continued to transmit the image to his HUD. He then knew what it was.

"Mortar!" he yelled as he turned the UAV to get out of the way. One of the batarians dropped a mortar shell into the tube and covered his ears. The mortar fired, sending a 88mm shell heading straight for the compound. Explosions ripped through the air as the shell hit one vehicle, an unmarked government one, blowing it up and killing two security contractors.

"_We have mortar fire coming from the east. Taco, you got those bastards in your sight?" _Armadillo asked. The radio was static for a few moments before Taco came on the air.

"_Got it Armadillo. Shifting to the east now," _Taco muttered. A few seconds later, he heard more muffled shots from the top of the roof of the main building, and through his UAV, he watched as one batarian was killed by a headshot, the other killed by a shot to the neck. The other four batarians dove straight into the crowd, earning a curse from Taco. The protesters quickly enveloped the SIU troopers and shielded them from the fire of the Delta Team. Armadillo then shifted his focus to the gate. The secondary gate was much stronger than the first, but if anyone tried to have a concentrated effort to destroy it, it would go down. The UAV shifted focus to the north, where more rioters and protesters were gathering. The only way in was through the main gates on the eastern gate, but maybe they would try to scale the wall?

"_Mother Bear, I have eyes on two shuttles heading straight for us. Did the call to the Separatists get through?" _Taco said through the radio.

"_Yeah we sent the call. Should be them. I want all available anti-air ordnance pointed at them though. Might be the Hegemony," _Hamilton cautioned. Soon, two Marines, part of the Embassy guard, had MANPADs tracking the two shuttles that were quickly racing to the Embassy.

"_This is Shuttle 37 of the Separatists. We are here to extract you to your fleet waiting near the moon, as per the treaty. Doesn't make me happy, you human maggots," _a rough voice, that could only belong to a batarian, spoke through the radio channel. It had to be the Separatists. Only they had radio channel communications of the humans.

"_This is Mother Bear. Good to see you too you ungrateful sons of bitches. We fought three separate wars against the Hegemony with you and you still don't trust us?" _Hamilton challenged. The batarian pilot only grunted.

"_Whatever human. Just clear a landing zone. I have enough room for twenty people-Oh shit! Shuttle 37 is defensive!" _the batarian pilot cursed through the radio. A flash of light was seen from the west and soon a missile was visible over the horizon. It was tracking the shuttle heading straight for the engines. The shuttle zoomed to the east, while its brother in arms started to head south, right over the compound. Shuttle 37 then dove, firing off countermeasures, but the missile ignored them, and slammed straight into the shuttle. The shuttle immediately caught fire and started to smoke.

"_Mayday, mayday, I've been hit. Again I've been hit. I'm going down, I'm going do-" _and the radio link vanished. Soon, an explosion was heard just a few miles east of the compound. The remaining shuttle, apparently, lost its nerve. It zoomed to the north.

"Well fuck!" Armadillo said to Poet. Poet just shook his head. He pointed straight at the protesters gathering. Bottles were being thrown at the wall and SIU squads were starting to take potshots at the security contractors. More SIU troopers were setting up mortars and heavy infantry weapons to prepare to take the compound.

If the Hegemony could take the Embassy, it would be a symbolic victory. They would have the human ambassador to the Separatists and they would take down human mercenaries and Marines. It would show that the Hegemony would not tolerate human intrusion into the Skyllian Verge and maybe shift public interest on Torfan towards the Hegemony and against the Separatists. Humanity would demand for war. And that could have unforeseen consequences. A war was not what the United Nations Security Council needed. They were having trouble with a resurgent krogan empire on one flank and going against the Hegemony would not bode well for the United Nations of Earth.

"_Well there is good news and bad news. Good news is that the freaking Separatist military governor is allowing for the 186th and the 75th to get us out. The bad news? The Hegemony just jumped an entire fleet right into the system." _

The words from Douglas Hamilton did not bode well for Delta Team.

"_That's right. Looks like open war. Torfan is going to be under siege in less than three hours. I got reports from the Separatists. We got mass uprisings going on in major cities and towns all across the moon. More SIU. If they take Torfan, you know what that means for us?" _

Armadillo couldn't fathom it. The humans were barely able to stop the Hegemony last time they attacked Torfan. Torfan had been the former stronghold of a Hegemony warlord. Its population was still mostly former Hegemony citizens and denizens.

A different voice was soon on the air. Ambassador Goyle.

"_It means that we'll be on the defensive and with the lost of Torfan, the Hegemony will have a base that is right near one of our major colonies. The shipyards at Alpha Centauri. We need to hold Torfan. Otherwise we'll be seeing the destruction of the UNE."_

ACCESSING CODEX….

WELCOME! NEW ENTRIES ADDED AS OF JULY 21ST 2158.

Batarian Separatists: Following the shift destruction of the United States of America during the First Contact War, the Separatists were composed of slaves and plebs dissatisfied with the Hegemony. They rose up, taking a quarter of the Hegemony in their grasp, while individual ship captains of the Hegemony's Navy sided with them. This allowed for the Separatists to gain control of a portion of the fleet attacking Earth, the human homeworld, that grinded into a three year war that saw the rise of Humanity on the galactic scale. Humanity, bolstered by their own ingenuity and new technology, managed to force a stalemate between the Separatists and the Hegemony. Facing slave uprisings across virtually all of their space, the remaining Hegemony forces on Earth and across Separatist space signed the Treaty of Sol that gave humanity their freedom and recognized the Separatists. The Separatists and the humans remain allies, though tensions are high due to the First Contact War. They control around half of what was the old Hegemony, though the Hegemony is much larger and richer.

United Nations of Earth: Following the First Contact War, over two billion humans were killed or enslaved. The United States of America, the Russian Federation, and the People's Republic of China, the most powerful nations on Earth, knew that if they were to stand alone the next time an alien force would appear, they would all die. The U.S reactivated NASA following their revival as a nation. Following the revamping of the space program, using mass effect technology and their own tech, they started to colonize various worlds, eventually reaching the Skyllian Verge, which is where current tensions are. Using a mixture of their tech and mass effect technology they have a mixed military; the navy is mostly composed of ships that are similar to batarian naval vessels, but there are rumors of ships that aren't powered by mass effect fields or eezo. Their army uses weapons not powered by mass effect fields. They have fought three major wars with the Hegemony. They are currently an Associate Species of the Citadel, as they made First Contact with them thirty years after the First Contact War.

The Second Krogan Empire: Following their defeat at the hands of the Separatists and the United Nations of Earth at the end of the Second War of Aggression, the Hegemony needed allies. As the humans were accepted into the Council following the war, they were outcasts. Though technically still part of the Citadel, they needed allies that would be stalwart and loyal. The Hegemony, using their vast resources and contacts, financed a krogan by the name of Urdnot Wrex, who wanted to unify the krogans into a powerful nation. One hundred years after he was first contacted by the Hegemony, Urdnot Wrex is the ruler of the most powerful krogan faction since the Rebellions; he called it the Second Krogan Empire. With him as Emperor, he head his forces in the Third War of Aggression, crushing two human worlds, only to be stopped when humanity managed to threaten Tuchanka. The United Nations of Earth and the Second Krogan Empire are currently engaged in a small-scale brushfire war, over the rights to a world known as Blackhaven. The Second Krogan Empire has an embassy on the Citadel, though are they are not considered part of it.

_What do you guys think? A humanity that is allied with Separatist batarians? A resurgent krogan empire? I found that I didn't want a humanity allied with the krogan or the quarians. I didn't want a humanity that curbstomped the batarians and the Council. I wanted one that was technologically advanced but not overly so. I wanted one that was able to "hold the line" but not go off and capture Palaven off a whim. I needed a humanity that was strong enough to join the Council. I will be getting into the political ramifications of the new possible war and the offset of krogan militarism what it means for the galaxy. You will be seeing the turians, asari, and salarians, along with the batarian ambassador and the human ambassador, along with a new special forces that is pretty freaking awesome. Well, not really new, but it still is pretty freaking cool. _

_To my fans of A Black Star Emerges and And So We Rise, I am currently rewriting the chapters. I will be taking down those two stories until I have rewritten them. So please, don't be disappointed. I will also be adding a new Elder Scrolls fiction soon. So, plenty of content, just slowly going. I'm also taking down my Homefront fic, because it is horrible. I will probably not rewrite it. Sorry. Also, this scene is inspired by Command Authority by Tom Clancy. _

_-DeathBladeVI_


	2. A Little Vacation

"_Radio"_

_"_Normal"

_Thoughts_

Council Chambers

"_I will not stand for it!" _the thunderous roar echoed throughout the room. The two batarian guards of the Hegemony ambassador shifted uncomfortably, seeing that their superior was about to go into one of his infamous rants.

"Ambassador, the Citadel Council sees no evidence that the United Nations of Earth is violating the Treaty of Torfan. You _were _the one to bring this accusation to the Council, but did not bring any evidence. As per the Citadel Conventions, we sent several Spectres to investigate, but we have received no proof that the UNE has broken the treaty," Councilor Aeleus Faxius of the Hierarchy said, with disapproval in his voice.

"They have been building military bases on _Torfan!" _the batarian ambassador screeched with fury. The salarian Councilor looked on in disinterest, looking at the assembled human party.

"And that is in accordance with the treaty ambassador. They have the _right _to do whatever they want in Separatist space, for the two are _allies. _Something that you sorely lack except for the krogans. The Separatists and the UNE have been allies for nearly a hundred and thirty years. The Council will not stand for your belligerent attempts to decrease UNE military presence in the Skyllian Verge," Councilor Chalero V'Molas said, _tsking _in stark annoyance of the batarian attempt to upstage the political balance that the Council had tried so hard to maintain.

With the Hegemony in control of most of the Terminus Systems, leaving only Omega as the sole independent power left, they had been pressing hard to colonize the Skyllian Verge, only for the UNE to attain colonization rights first along with the Separatists. It amused William Udina to no end that the Hegemony had attempted to get the Council to declare the Verge a "batarian" only zone, just so that the Council could laugh in their face.

"The Separatists are our people, disregarding their own proud history and culture. They will fold back into the Hegemony, whether or not they see it. _Democracy _is a weakling tool for the fools and the idiotic, naive, and overall _stupid _asari. Batarians have no need of it, neither does the Hierarchy. You seek to disregard hundreds of years of _our history, _our _culture, _and our _economy!" _Ambassador Malak protested the Council to the end. They had never stopped trying to fold the Separatists back into their fold, hating their fellow batarians for daring to believe in democracy. William could see that the batarian hit a raw nerve with the turian Councilor and the asari one as well.

Ever since the Unification Wars, the Hierarchy had always been an oligarchy, the power of the Hierarchy being in the hands of the Primarch and Palaven Command, the fates of forty billion turians decided by fewer than twenty. Even so, the Hierarchy had always championed the _democratic _cause, despite denying it to their citizens. The asari Councilor was just insulted that the batarian had dared to challenge her race and their ideals.

"And yet the Separatists have decided to not be a part of the Hegemony, something you recognized in the Treaty of Sol signed nearly a hundred and thirty years ago," the salarian Councilor, Sutar Emalo, interjected. "This _democracy _aspect of the Separatists has given them a great edge. Their economy, though smaller, is more efficient than yours, their people are happier and better off, and their _culture _is not lacking. Have you ever been to Ascension? Of course not. It is beautiful."

The batarian ambassador threw his head back in undisguised disgust for the Council.

"When will the Council learn that the Hegemony will not stop until the Separatists are back within the Hegemony. We will not _stop _until the last human is burning on Earth and we have taken their precious _world _from them. We will not stop until humanity are slaves, _fit for nothing but licking the undersides of my boots! Earth will burn and so shall you!" _the ambassador shouted at the top of his lungs. William became more alert. The Hegemony had always been belligerent, almost to the point of war, but not _this _belligerent. If the Hegemony was still calling for war…

But for what? The Hegemony had lost the last three wars they had fought against the Separatists. The reason was simple; the Hegemony refused to orbitally bombard their enemies, wanting to keep the infrastructure and populace more or less intact. If they were now calling for war, it might mean that the Hegemony had found that they need not worry about the Council. They didn't need to worry about Council intervention.

"Ambassador, as an Associate Species of the Citadel, you are bound by Council law. We have _tolerated _your breaking of the law because of your _culture. _War with the Terminus is something that no one will want and no one will come out on top. If you continue your aggressive and warmongering behavior, the Citadel will pose sanctions and will kick you out of the Citadel. You do understand the _economic _viabilities of your war?" Sutar asked the batarian, with a bit of an edge in his voice. The Hegemony economy was large, the fourth largest in the galaxy, right behind the turian, asari, and salarian. This was due to the vast mines found in the Terminus Systems and trade relations with the krogans. However, it was dependent on the asari economy. Anyone who lost connections with the asari economy would suffer greatly.

Instead of a groveling batarian like many expected, Malak laughed. A batarian laughing was not a pleasant sound. The deep rumbling sounded like a horse coughing and made William's ears hurt.

"_Sanctions? _That is the best the _almighty _Council can do?" Malak chortled again. The two batarian guards tensed up, their weapons on their backs ready to go into action.

"The Hierarchy will conduct a...how may I say this? A peacekeeping operation in Torfan and Ascension to make sure that the people of the Separatists are safe and secure. If any Hegemony fleet is spotted near Separatist space, then the peacekeeping force has permission to fire upon them. We will not allow for the Hegemony to continue to terrorize the good people of the Separatists," Aeleus said with the straightest face a turian could ever manage.

"In addition to sanctions, the peacekeeping operation near Torfan and Ascension, the Salarian Union will request that the Hegemony remove all of their forces from the border they share with the Separatists and send them to their respective home bases. If not, then the Salarian Union will intervene," the salarian threatened.

Malak could see how the Council had swiftly turned against him. Only the asari refrained from just declaring war, albeit _informally, _and even their Councilor looked pissed at the batarian.

"We see where the Council stands on an batarian matter. It shall not go unpunished."

The ambassador left with huft, his guards trailing. He glared at the humans, hatred clear in his eyes.

"Well, that's great Councilors. Except you forgot the part where Torfan is up in arms against the Separatists, my government's embassy there is under siege, the krogan are still trying to get into Blackhaven, and Earth has now been threatened by a batarian supremacist. Thank you for your support though," William Udina said with great care in his words.

"And there is you ambassador Udina. What do you need?" Chalero said with strained patience in her voice.

"The krogan are still trying to break into Blackhaven. The 63rd Scout Flotilla came under fire from one of their ships, damaging one cruiser and nearly destroying the frigate _New Orleans. _I have come to see if the Council will lend a part of their _peacekeeping _armada to help settle this mess," William huffed. It was getting tiring. Blackhaven was some backwater colony that was just a relay jump away from Alpha Centauri. With the krogan and the Hegemony building up military forces at both sides of UNE, humanity needed the Council.

"And once again, the krogan do not warrant a major threat. And if the Council became involved, again, _there would be war. _With the Hegemony already militarizing and threatening to attack the Separatists, we would have a war on our hands, one will not stop until either us or the Hegemony is destroyed. Bringing the Empire into this war will mean nothing but destruction and death. Until the krogan directly threaten the Citadel or Earth, your motion will be denied once again."

"Oh spare me the rhetoric Chalero! We have been a part of the Citadel for nearly a hundred years. We have been the force that has been driving back the Hegemony. We nearly lost Alpha Centauri to the krogan. Our ships are out there on peacekeeping missions with the turians, fighting against Terminus pirates, raiders, making sure that the yahg stay on their godforsaken world, and even fighting against turian rebels!" William said, repeating the tactic of appealing to the turian sense of duty and honor.

"And we deeply appreciate it. But if you want to give the same argument a _fifth time _then your motion will be denied. Again. And again," Chalero deadpanned. _Shit. Seems like I won't be getting through to the Council today. _

"Okay, okay, I get it Councilor. I will once again, convey what you said to me today to the UNE Security Council and most likely, I will be back tomorrow to ask for the same motion you have already denied four...five times. And you look lovely today Councilor," William said with a bow. He exited the room with the asari Councilor sighing as always.

Tuchanka

Special Warfare Operator Shavir Al-Alada rubbed his beard once more before setting his assault rifle down. It had been several days since his squad been inserted into the krogan homeworld of Tuchanka. The mess of a world was still recovering from the decades of nuclear warfare that the krogan put themselves in, but it was becoming clearer and clearer every year. The sky was a messy brown, while the clouds were moving from the west to the east.

The reason his squad had been inserted into the krogan world was because they were to capture a high ranking krogan scientist that was making strides to completely cure the krogan infertility. His name was Okeer, a krogan of high intellect and high power. If krogan infertility was to be completely cured, then Blackhaven would be overwhelmed within twenty years. It was something that the Security Council couldn't let it happen. Okeer was a pragmatist, wanting to build only strong krogan, but Emperor Urdnot Wrex wanted a complete cure to the genophage.

His recon drone was high in the air, monitoring the surrounding countryside for Okeer's convoy. Okeer moved from lab to lab on Tuchanka, making sure that no prospective assassin or anti-krogan extremist would be able to kill him. He was wanted in Citadel space, wanted _officially _in Hegemony space, and wanted _especially _in human space. The UNE wanted him captured. And then he would be whisked away to whatever hellhole the International Intelligence Agency wanted him to be in.

Shavir Al-Alada was from Alpha Centauri, having grown up in New Albany. At the age of twenty-six, he was young, though he was a part of the squad of highly trained, hyper lethal NAVSOG operators. The Naval Special Warfare Group had been born when the UNE needed special forces to do black ops work. Assassination, kidnapping, anything that the UNE could publicly deny. Delta Force was their public image; hostage rescues, direct contact, whatever else that the NAVSOG didn't do. Each NAVSOG operator went through a basic training course that would make Delta Force's look like a tea party.

Each of them had to go through BUD/S; modeled after the Navy SEALs training course. Running, swimming, more running, occasionally running with boats, occasionally swimming with boats, and more running and swimming, but with automatic fire over their heads. Usually, a BUD/S class would have around ninety or so percent of their students cut. This left the hardest of the hard, the toughest of the tough. They were the strongest. Then they would get to have fun doing more training, such as zero gravity, demolition raids, and others.

"Shavir, I got eyes on a krogan patrol approximately three hundred meters away from here. They are heading from Urdnot to Weyrloc territory," Petty Officer Second Class Mark Cross said tensely. It was understandable. Six days of shifting from ruin to ruin, making sure that no krogan patrol was trying to find them, and also trying to figure out Okeer's route.

The recon drone that Shavir had thrown up just an hour ago suddenly beeped. A trio of _whirs _were sent from the recon drone to Shavir. He knew what it meant. Using his omni-tool, he quickly shifted his HUD's perspective to the drone's, showing the hot white thermal imagery of eight vehicles, highly armored Tomkas, armed with a mass accelerator cannon. Highly dangerous, the Tomkas most likely had at least a platoon worth of krogan. A platoon of krogan was bad news for everybody.

"Ready up," Lieutenant Alexei Romanov, the commanding officer of the squad, ordered. The assembled NAVSOG operators did as they were told, readying weapons, making sure that their sights were clear, and that each and every one of them was ready to fight. They were outnumbered at least four to one, but they were taught, trained, and ingrained to always adapt and overcome their adversaries.

Each NAVSOG operator was armed with their personal firearms. Everyone had the same armor though it was up to the operator to customize it. Every soldier had a kinetic barrier, while also having a coal scuttle helmet, the same that humanity had used for the last two hundred years, a bullet proof vest along with various pockets and straps for extra items. They were ready.

"Delta 1-2, engage on my command."

Shavir shifted his weight. Two of the operators had LAWs- Light Anti-Tank Weapons, each of them holding a rocket that was propelled by eezo- and waiting for the order to fire. The eight vehicles continued to go down the long and winding road that the krogans had recently built. It was crude, filled with potholes and dangerous creatures, but the krogan were warriors, not construction workers. The eight Tomkas easily glided over the potholes, the mass accelerator weapons ready to deal with any threat.

"Sir, krogan patrol is shifting. They're heading back into Urdnot territory," Mark Cross said, his sniper rifle still scanning the horizon for any more enemies. That was bad news. When they attacked Okeer, it would mean more krogan casualties. Oh well. They shouldn't have been on patrol.

The dark clad humans took their positions beside the road. Since Tomkas were able to scan the roadways for mines, the lead NAVSOG operator had a seeker mine; a mine designed to move towards an enemy target. As they moved in the ruins, they were about to fire.

"Engage!" Romanov ordered and two sheets of flame roared, exhaust traveling straight for the back and lead Tomka. The first Tomka blew up in a spectacular fashion, the dark energy and explosive easily destroying the massive APC. The second veered at the last second, seeing the rocket; but the explosive warhead still hit the rear wheel, flipping it over and landing on its turret, rendering it useless.

"Delta, move forward and suppress!" and the eight operatives did so, hitting the other six Tomkas. The lead operator released his seeker mine, when it whirled and headed straight for the nearest Tomka. The mine latched itself to a wheel and exploded, crippling the Tomka.

The krogan patrol that had just passed by was starting to move in. A massive krogan, armed with an equally massive shotgun, started to fire. The Graal Spiker Thrower shotgun was designed to kill thresher maws, massive worm-like creatures that tore through Tuchanka. When that krogan's shotgun started to fire, Shavir shifted his assault rifle and fired four three round bursts into the humongous creature.

Kinetic barriers flared, blocking the first three bursts, but the last burst got through, hitting the krogan in the chest. The armor of the krogan saved him though, allowing him to remain upright, but not before Mark Cross's sniper rifle boomed three times, one bullet punching through the chest, another punching through the left arm, and another slicing through his neck. One krogan was down.

The assault element started to chuck grenades into the mess, high explosives that would tear through any krogan. One krogan was destroyed in a sea of blood while two more were cut down when they decided to pop up from their cover. A NAVSOG operator then deployed his personal turret, bathing the battlefield in fire. The turret toasted a krogan in black armor. The sickly smell of burned flesh reached the operator's nose.

"Suppressing fire on krogan, four o'clock! Delta, keep going! Get Okeer!" the LT ordered. Crackling assault rifle fire killed two more krogan that attempted to flank the operators. Shavir took fire from a krogan armed with a machinegun and his kinetic barriers were drained by half, forcing him down into cover. His assault rifle cracked three times, two shots going wide and the final one slamming into the kinetic barriers of another krogan. They had managed to cut down Okeer's protection element by almost half.

"Al-Alada! You and Gupta, get Okeer! The rest of you, clear out the rest of these krogan!" Romanov ordered. Shavir acknowledged the order and he and Gupta, a fellow NAVSOG operator, moved into the killzone. The other operators were moving in quickly, killing wounded and dazed krogan, while two krogan were still firing at them from behind a Tomka. In the lightning raid by the operators, the krogan were neglecting to use their mass accelerator weapons onboard their Tomkas.

"Gupta, give me covering fire!" he said briskly and the Indian nodded, and his designated marksman rifle was soon pumping out bullets toward the krogan line. Two krogan were trying to pry open the doors to one of the Tomkas, but it was shut tight.

"We must get Warlord Okeer out! These ghosts must not be allowed to get them!" a krogan SWO smiled as he attached his rifle to the magnetic strips to the back of his armor and drew his knife. It was almost suicidal taking on a krogan in hand to hand combat. But he had the element of surprise and his blade was made of the hardest metals known to man.

The assault was going well. The hard pressed krogan were trying to turn the human tide, but though they were krogan and massive and strong, they were hardly a match for dedicated human special forces. Especially NAVSOG.

Each NAVSOG operator had at least six years of combat experience. Most of the krogan they were newborns and in their teens, waiting for their initiation trials. They were tough, but stupid and reckless. And each of them was a little afraid of humans. Who had showed that they were able to nearly destroy Tuchanka with nuclear weapons. Only the timely arrival of an asari diplomat ended that war.

Nuclear weapons were of course, outlawed by the Citadel Conventions. But what do you say to a race, when the Citadel Council was unable, or didn't want to intervene on their behalf, that was nearing defeat? The krogan, all of their experienced warriors and mercenary groups, had overwhelmed two human worlds within _days. _It had taken the batarians _years _to even take Alpha Centauri. And then they lost it when the UNE took it right back.

"Gupta, I'm right next to the Tomka with Okeer. Cover me."

He raised his blade and plunged it into the neck armor of one of the krogan, making him flail and whip his arms around. Digging in, he drew his pistol and fired eight shots straight into the side of the krogan, killing him. The other krogan roared when he saw this. The blood rage was coming quickly.

Three shots rang out and the youngling was dead before he hit the floor. The fool didn't even have his damn kinetic barriers active. He rushed toward the slightly bent door and using his omni-tool, quickly hacked into the door, unsealing it. He raised his pistol, expecting to see a raging Warlord, only for a krogan, with its blood splattered everywhere, silently breathing, trying to stay awake.

"All these years of research into the perfect krogan...all these years of siphoning off resources from the Emperor and his clan..all these years of _genetics! Ruined! _Only one sample. Only one perfect clone...but not ready. Must incubate for years human..._because of what you have done!" _the krogan coughed. Blood started to stream out from his mouth. "Must not let the weak rule the strong. These damn fools, _damn Urdnot Wrex _giving me younglings for protection! Years of research! Partially curing the genophage, only for younglings to protect me! _Younglings! _Not even trained warriors. _Younglings!_ What is your name human, so I may curse it!"

The krogan coughed again. He reached for something. Acting quickly, the human special forces operator raised his pistol. The krogan laughed, rumbling.

"_Fool! _You think that I would try and kill you? Despite what you think, I am giving you one last gift so I may piss on Wrex's legacy. The perfect krogan, with the greatest genes known to the galaxy! He is only growing and yet...well be the greatest krogan known to his kind. He have done me a great injustice and justice. Protect him...nurture him...grow him.._.teach him of his father. _Damn you human!"

"My name is Shavir Al-Alada," SWO Al-Alada said quietly.

"Well Shavir, I curse you! Hehehe...it doesn't matter anymore. Take this and protect it with your life!" and the old krogan suddenly shuddered, but not before gifting Shavir with a strange metallic device. The krogan raised his head.

"_Karbal!" _the old krogan yelled. He then fell limp. The metallic device was small enough to fit in Shavir's hands. It was glowing. He tucked it into a pocket.

"Gupta, Al-Alada, you get Okeer yet? Extraction is coming any minute now!" Romanov was yelling in his ear.

"Sir, Okeer is dead. He was in the last Tomka. However, I did get something out of him. I'm coming to extraction. Al-Alada out," and his assault rifle was in his hands, racing towards the ruins. Gupta was right besides him. A krogan armored battalion was heading straight towards the convoy. That wasn't good.

"Mopped up the rest of the convoy. They're all dead. Everyone, to the extraction point!" Romanov ordered. The NAVSOG squad was soon situated in the ruins, leaving no traces that they were the ones to execute the raid. A specialized shuttle, one that was identical to almost every other krogan military shuttle, was soon above them.

"What the hell did you get out of him?" Romanov asked as they boarded the shuttle. Shavir gave him the metallic device. He had a vague idea of what it was.

"It looks like...an incubation pod. A miniaturized version. And...there's _instructions?" _Romanov asked incredulously. The assembled operators were also perplexed. Cross, the ever so subtle sniper, said something entirely appropriate.

"Oh, the IIA is going to love that."

The operators groaned. Of course Director Wick was going to be up their asses about it.

CODEX UPDATES

NAVSOG: The Naval Special Operations Group is the black operations special forces of the UNE. Each operator is more dangerous than a Delta Force team. Most of them are veterans of the Third War of Aggression.

_And there were three. Actually only two parts. Sorry for such the long wait! Busy with summer stuff! Zomvee, the reason for batarians is for drama! Elcor...eh. Maybe next time. Thansk for the review and support! Also, thanks to everyone that followed and favorited. Nearly four hundred views! Awesome. I'll have the next chapter out in a couple of weeks maybe a month. Depends. _

_Cheers!_

_-DeathBladeVI_


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